The Adventures of a Freshman

by Jesse Lynch Williams

The poker game went on. It was getting late, but nobody noticed that.

"Whose deal is it?"

"Mine," said Lucky, picking up the cards with a nervous hand; he began to shuffle them.

Powelton smiled in his superior way. "Look at Lucky's fingers twitch," he said. The others laughed, and Young added, indulgently, "The little boy will get over that in time."

Lee was dealing, and he was too much excited to hear or reply to this sally; it was 1 a.m. of the first night he had ever played cards for money in his life, and with a beginner's luck he had been winning all evening.

"Can you open it, Tommy?" asked Lee, the dealer.

"Nope," said Stevens.

"I can't," said Powelton.

"Can you, Deacon?"

"No, of course not."